Thus far, we have covered what it takes to set your business apart from the competition and what it is that you’re really selling to your customers. Now, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and do the digging necessary to find your customers and let them know who you are.

The following items will help you to target your marketing strategies to ensure you get the most mileage out of your campaigns:

Is your ideal customer male or female?

How old are they?

What is their average annual income?

Do they have a family?

Where do they live?

What are their hobbies or interests?

Where do they currently get their needs comparable to what you’re offering?

How much does that cost?

What is it about their current supplier that they like/dislike?

Again, this isn’t a comprehensive list of things to consider by a long shot, but it should get you started in the right direction. The most important thing in this step is to take your time. The more you can figure out about your ideal customer and your competition that they’re using now, the more prepared you will be to plan an ad campaign.

In last week’s post, we said that finding your unique proposition was paramount to your business’s success. You should have dug deep to get to the heart of what sets you apart from your sea of competition. Having your proposition in place, we now turn our attention to using it to your full advantage.

I’ll continue to use the example we looked at last week: “your pizza delivered hot and to your door in 30 minutes or less, or it’s free”. It was a bold move that paid off. At the time, home delivery service for pizzas averaged around an hour or more, depending on the day of the week. To guarantee a hot delivery in half of the time of your competition took a bit of bravery and a lot of streamlining.

This is one example of many that can be used to leverage sales in your favor. Right now, Buick is re-branding itself as a hip, stylish vehicle rather than something your grandparents drive. American Standard is running a campaign aimed at making them the cleanest toilet on the market.

Take your unique proposition and use it as leverage in your marketplace. What can you give them that your competitors can’t? How can your offer appeal to your ideal customer? You’re not sure who your ideal customer is? Not to worry. We’ll tackle that in next Friday’s session. Until then, follow the blog to get your sessions delivered into your inbox.

What is it about your business that makes it unique? Why should customers choose you over your competition? It all boils down to a unique proposition.

Do you have a unique proposition? Hot and ready in 30 minutes or less, or it’s free. You know exactly what you should be getting with this one. Can you say the same for your own? If your proposition is too broad, you’ll gain the interest of no one. Make sure that yours is specific enough and targeted at your intended audience.

This is a topic that will take some time and thought for you. It should. This is the cornerstone of your entire enterprise! You often hear that the majority of businesses fail in the first three years. A lack of a clear and defined business proposition lies at the heart of those failures. If you can’t find out what it is that sets you apart from everyone else in your marketplace, then you will never get seen. So, please, spend some time on this one. That’s your homework for next time. It’s that important.

In our next session, we’ll see how you can use your unique proposition to draw your customers to you like bees to honey.

As I promised in our last discussion, I will shed a little light on your homework question. What exactly are you selling to your customers? I’ll hazard a guess and say that most of you went for things like: a new home (real estate), an oil change (auto shop), a cake for that special occasion (bakery), etc.

While you’re partially right, you’re still 99% wrong. You aren’t selling your customers or clients on your products or services. You’re selling them on a raw emotion that those services or products will deliver.

If you’re a real estate agent, your sales message should focus on the sheer bliss and freedom that comes with owning your own home. Drive home the message of what ‘home’ means.

If you’re running a bakery, you’re not selling your customers a birthday cake. You’re selling their future memories to them! You’re selling them that ear-to-ear grin on their loved one’s face.

For the auto shop owner, you’re selling your customers their peace of mind. You’re selling them a sense of security for them and their families.

Bingo. The bulbs are going off. Great copy will tap into this aspect of your customer’s psyche. Having me in your corner will take care of this puzzle piece.

Now, to delve deeper into the money well. Your homework for next time (which stacks atop this foundation) is the following: What is it that’s unique to your business and no one else that should compel someone to use you?

More on that in the next session. For now, follow The Money Well to get these business-boosting sessions delivered right to your inbox.

The financial freedom that comes with being your own boss is a powerful motivator. You’re here because you want more out of your business than it’s giving you right now. Most of the lead pages, funnels, webinars, and other tools of the trade can be built with a click of your mouse. Unfortunately, that doesn’t guarantee sales.

What does? Your message. You can drive all of the traffic you can buy to your landing page, but if your copy isn’t on point, then you’re wasting money. Even worse — you’re wasting your time! If you’re not getting the conversions that you want, your copy is one of the culprits. You may have some other things going, but we’ll tackle those in other posts. For now, let’s focus on your message.

Getting your sales copy just right is as much an art as it is a science. Nowadays, having the right message will make or break you. Your copy has to appeal to your ideal customer and leave no doubt in their minds that you’re the one they want.

This blog will be dedicated to helping you, the business owner, not only with increasing your profits, but your marketing savvy as well. In each post, I’ll leave you with a little homework to think on. No, you don’t need to turn in assignments. Though, I’m happy to critique your input as you wish. These questions or exercises are intended to get you thinking about your cash flow from other perspectives. It doesn’t matter if you sell a service, auto parts, mortgage loans, real estate, golf club memberships, or tacos from your truck — this information will get you out of your rut and on the right path.

Without further ado, I’ll leave you with your first bit to think on: What exactly are you selling? It sounds like a simple question. I promise you, you’ll have to dig deeper than the surface if you intend to pull the most from your business. We’ll go over it and more next time! Until then, follow the Money Well to get these business-boosting posts delivered to your inbox.